YOUR FORUM FOR PLAY, SPORTS UND LEISURE AREAS
When April arrives planners, builders and those responsible for the upkeep of play and leisure facilities can look forward to attending the Bewegungsplan ("Movement Plan")-Plenum in Fulda. This year the sixth edition of this popular event took place in the Maritim Hotel in Fulda and as so often in recent years the baroque city in the state of Hessen welcomed its guests with ample sunshine and warm temperatures. Some 190 participants took up Playground + Landscape Verlag's invitation and enjoyed a wide-ranging programme with lots of exciting and innovative presentations and workshops.
The overarching theme of the event on 17 and 18 April 2018 was the "Planning and Design of Creative Play and Movement Areas", with various aspects explored over the two days. One topic was target-group appropriate playground design, with participants first informed about the demands of the target group. In his presentation entitled "Active Children, Strong Children", the first speaker Prof. Dr. Alexander Woll of the Institute for Sports and Sports Science Karlsruhe explained how vital play and movement are for the intellectual and physical development of children, underlining his message with the scientific results of surveys and research. Next, Ms Claudia Werremeier from the town of Ochtrup explained how play areas in her municipality are planned with input from children and young people. She was followed by Ms Susanne Weimann from the Children's Physical Education Foundation Baden-Württemberg, who presented a special project to promote active play: the Children's Animal Activity World in the Zoological City Gardens (compare article in this edition). Rounding off the presentations on this theme, Prof. Dr. Rolf Schwarz of Karlsruhe University of Education described how it is possible to have a profound influence on the movement and social behaviour of children through playground design. He compared the modes of conduct and social behaviour of primates with those of children and presented a comprehensive behavioural study of children in the outdoor area of a nursery.
After lunch the next topic was the "Use of Participation Processes". Ms Christina Hüls of the Stadt.Kinder planning office in Dortmund and Mr Clemens Klikar of stadt.menschen.berlin were asked probing questions by the moderator Tobias Thierjung in a panel discussion. The theme was the opportunities offered by participation processes but the debate also covered the limits of usefulness and perspectives on the approach. The participants were included in the panel discussion and were able to play an active role. The programme for the first day concluded with workshops, for which the participants were divided into four parallel working groups. The safety workshop led by Franz Danner dealt with the application of the safety standard in tricky cases. The excursion workshop led by Mr Waber and Mr Mosler from Fulda city authority visited play, movement and leisure facilities in the Fulda-Aue recreation area. In his workshop the sports scientist Ralf Pahlsmeier dealt with the sustainable use of fitness and movement areas. And to the delight of the organisers a workshop was also organised in tandem with the Federation of German Landscape Architects Hessen for the first time: along with the participants in their workshop the landscape architects Jobst Seeger and Sven Beling worked out the basis for playground planning in a very restricted area. After the first day's programme the participants in the Bewegungsplan-Plenum gathered to dine and discuss the day's events in the heraldic hall of the hotel.
On the second day the "Municipal Trends in Movement" theme was covered. Mr Martin Gessinger of the TraceSpace planning office in Berlin demonstrated how to plan a user-friendly parkour facility. Next, the landscape architect Daniel Wegmüller presented the planning and execution of a movement park in Liechtenstein, with Prof. Dr. Dirk Jungels from Munich then going on to present the fast-growing new sport of padel as an activity that can be enjoyed in public areas.
Every edition of the Bewegungsplan-Plenum ends with a session on "playground safety", with a particular focus this year on the changes to the "EN 1176" standard. The chairman of the DIN Standards Committee for Sport 112-07-01 AA Playground Equipment, Mr Andreas Stupp, gave the participants an in-depth explanation of these changes. Next, Dr. Elke Frenzel of the German Social Accident Insurance Institution for local authorities in Bavaria dealt with the topic of "Poisonous Plants in Playgrounds", before Ms Sandra Freidank of the Stadt.Kinder planning office in Dortmund shared her experience in the repair and maintenance of municipal playground equipment.
The 2018 Bewegungsplan-Plenum was then brought to a close. The participants and organisers were very upbeat about the 2018 event, which once again showcased an abundance of groundbreaking know-how and innovations. The organisers would like to thank all those who addressed and supported the Bewegungsplan-Plenum 2018 for their endeavours and all participants for their enthusiastic participation. Presentations and impressions can be found on the event website at www.bewegungsplan.org. The 2019 Plenum will again take place in Fulda on 02 and 03 April 2019.
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Statements on the Bewegungsplan-Plenum 2018:
"The careful consideration that went into the organisation of this year's Bewegungsplan-Plenum meant current topics were presented from different perspectives. There was an opportunity to explore individual themes in detail at the workshops. Exchanging views with the other participants was also inspiring and stimulating once again. It was a very informative event in a thoroughly lovely setting.“ (Markus Weidemann, landscape architect from the town of Meerbusch)
"I attended the Bewegungsplan event for the first time this year and was very enthused by the content and the great consideration with which it was organised. As someone who works in the specific area of youth provision, I found the presentation on the profound influence of playground design on the movement and social behaviour of children especially enlightening. What I have learned will help us with playground planning in our town and is sure to have a long-term effect (Hilde Seuring, specialist area youth provision, from the town of Grevenbroich)
"The growing number of participants is testament to the increasing importance and high quality of the Plenum. The speakers provide a comprehensive and multi-layered view of the planning, execution and operation of outdoor play, movement and sports facilities. If the Bewegungsplan-Plenum didn't exist it would have to be invented." (Ralf Pahlsmeier, managing director of Ahorn-Sportpark GmbH)
"The mix of participants at the Bewegungsplan-Plenum brings experts from the same market with different approaches together in a very pleasant atmosphere. The debates here are more fruitful than those at the most popular trade fairs with the sector because they are significantly more in-depth. We'd certainly like to be present again in 2018! Our thanks to all the organisers and speakers for their tireless endeavours." (Markus Waldhelm, Linie M GmbH)
"The Bewegungsplan-Plenum in Fulda once again provided an enlightening experience: exciting presentations, good discussions on an equal footing with people from the "playground scene" and informative workshops - all in a stimulating atmosphere.“(Birthe Mallach-Mlynczak. Kinderland Emsland)
"Anyone looking for tips on trends in playgrounds and movement courses will be well catered for at the Bewegungsplan-Plenum. Also noteworthy this year was the impressive expertise of the sports and games scientists, playground planners, playground inspectors and those responsible for playground component standards. Overall I would say that the selection of speakers was very good. An engaging and topical overarching theme and appropriate individual presentations covering both scientific aspects and practical perspectives meant the needs of visitors were highly met. (Johannes Maier, Eurotramp GmbH)
Photo: P@L
